Deep within the Star Dou Forest, a terrifying aura shot into the sky.
"What?!" Di Tian's roar made the entire Lake of Life tremble. "Damn humans!"
Towering fury burned in his golden vertical pupils. The Emperor Auspicious Beast was the one favored by the Star Dou Forest's destiny, the hope of their Soul Beast race—yet she had actually sacrificed herself to a human?
Xiong Jun smashed the boulder beside him with one punch, sending shards flying everywhere.
Bi Ji covered her mouth, her eyes reddening as tears silently fell. Scarlet King clenched his fangs, a low beastly growl rolling from his throat.
In that instant, the entire Star Dou Forest fell into rage and grief.
Only by the shore of the Lake of Life, a little beast covered in golden fur lifted her head and stared blankly at the Heavenly Screen. She was no bigger than a puppy, and the vertical eye on her forehead had not yet fully opened, revealing only a thin golden line.
Her four little hooves stood on the grass, her tail giving a slight wag. The Heavenly Screen's light reflected in her eyes, yet she had no idea why all the adults around her were angry.
She tilted her head and let out a soft "Wuu," as if asking: What are you arguing about?
Killing intent surged in Di Tian's eyes, nearly overflowing.
"Who is that human?"
"Tell me. Who is that human?"
No one could answer him. The Heavenly Screen continued to display its images at an unhurried pace, remaining a cold and detached spectator.
Di Tian raised his head, his dragon's head held high, and released a roar that shook the mountains and forests.
Countless Soul Beasts prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling. Even Xiong Jun did not dare lift his head.
"From this day onward, if that human takes even one step into the Star Dou Forest—no, if he appears within a hundred li of me carrying the Auspicious Beast's aura, I will personally crush him into dust."
None of the Ferocious Beasts present felt that his words were excessive. The Emperor Auspicious Beast was their hope, the chance for the entire Soul Beast race to rise again.
Di Tian withdrew his gaze and slowly swept it across every Ferocious Beast present.
"Remember my words. Spread them. Make every Soul Beast in the Star Dou Forest that has gained intelligence remember that person's name, face, and aura. The moment he appears—"
"Kill without mercy."
The Silver Dragon King said nothing, tacitly approving his actions.
On the Heavenly Screen, Qian Renxue looked at the red-highlighted record, then turned to Yin Hongye.
"This Emperor Auspicious Beast—is she the Soul Beast said to be favored by the destiny of the entire continent?"
Yin Hongye nodded, his tone calm. "That's right. She embodies the Star Dou Forest's destiny, the chosen child of the Soul Beast race."
He was not surprised that Qian Renxue knew of this Soul Beast. Xuan Zi had said that ancient records mentioned her ten thousand years ago. As for how ancient those records truly were, now that Qian Renxue had spoken of her, he had a rough idea.
More than twenty thousand years.
Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment and lowered her eyes to look again at the words on the page: Emperor Auspicious Beast, Three-Eyed Golden Lion, sacrificed herself.
Sacrifice.
What had the human who received such a being's willing sacrifice actually done?
"Did she fall in love with a human too?"
"Yes. That's right. No Soul Beast that entered the human world without taking human form could escape that fate."
"Who was he?"
"Ling Bing Douluo, Huo Yuhao."
Upon hearing that name, Di Tian silently committed it to memory. Ten thousand years from now, he would kill every one of them. Better to kill the wrong one than let a single one go.
"This person is..."
"The founder of the Spirit Pagoda!"
Yin Hongye answered for Qian Renxue directly. "That fellow had more than one Soul Beast attached to him. He also had two of the Far North's Three Great Kings, the Ice and Snow Emperors. Ten thousand years ago, they should have been a 400,000-year Soul Ring and a 700,000-year Soul Ring."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who was still suffering at the Lake of Life and clinging to Ice Empress as his reason to live, instantly roared:
"My Bingbing! My Bingbing! How could you become a human's Soul Ring?!"
He had no idea that he was the one who had talked her into it.
His cry was so heartrending that it sounded as though his own parents had died.
The Silver Dragon King found him unbearably noisy and directly sealed his mouth shut.
"Shut your filthy mouth and watch properly. Maybe you'll live to see ten thousand years later and take revenge yourself!"
At that moment, the Far North was swept by endless snowstorms.
Ice Empress and Snow Empress stood side by side atop an iceberg. Their gazes pierced through the surging blizzard and remained fixed on the Heavenly Screen.
"A 400,000-year and a 700,000-year Soul Ring." Ice Empress's voice was cold, as cold as the eternal ice beneath her feet. "That human called Huo Yuhao turned both of us... into Soul Rings?"
Snow Empress said nothing. Her white hair whipped wildly in the gale, while emotions she had never experienced before churned in her ice-blue eyes.
It was a deep confusion, as though she had no idea what had happened.
She was the ruler of the Far North, a 700,000-year Heavenly Snow Woman.
She had never imagined that she would have a destination, much less that her destination would be becoming a human Soul Master's Soul Ring.
"If Ice Empress and I both left, what would happen to the Far North? Would A-Tai be the only one guarding it?"
"Why should we?" Ice Empress suddenly swung her claw. An ice blade tore through the blizzard and blasted a fissure dozens of meters deep into the glacier. "We, the Three Great Kings of the Far North, became Soul Rings for some human? Who the hell was he?"
Snow Empress spoke, her voice calm. "History would not lie."
"Do you think... we did it willingly?" Ice Empress lowered her voice.
Snow Empress did not answer, but she seemed to have already given her answer.
Spirit City, Papal Hall.
Bibi Dong sat upon the high seat, her slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest. Her face remained cold, beautiful, and dignified, but greed flashed deep within her violet eyes.
Four hundred thousand years. Seven hundred thousand years.
They were far more powerful than ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
The Three Great Kings of the Far North—those must be the overlords of the northern ice plains.
She already possessed Twin Martial Souls. If she gained two Soul Rings of such age as well, how far would her strength expand?
But clearly, she had overestimated herself and underestimated the strength of those two Great Kings.
On the Heavenly Screen, Yin Hongye continued his introduction. "After the Emperor Auspicious Beast sacrificed herself, Beast God Di Tian launched a beast tide. It was the largest Soul Beast riot in the ten thousand years that followed, and the entire continent felt the Star Dou Forest's fury."
Qian Renxue frowned. "He started a war over one sacrifice?"
"In Di Tian's eyes, she was not merely a Soul Beast." Yin Hongye looked at her. "She was the hope of the entire Soul Beast race."
Mu Hongchen did not feel much about it. "Indeed. She gathered the Star Dou Forest's destiny. How could they not be angry?"
"Exactly. After that, didn't the Soul Beast race begin to decline rapidly?" Yin Hongye thought over the history and smiled faintly.
"Now there's only such a tiny bit of land left. And since Ice Empress and Snow Empress are gone, my judgment was right. There probably aren't many Soul Beasts left in the Far North either."
"The Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters is in the Far North."
Snow Empress froze upon hearing those words.
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